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Friday, May 31, 2013

That's how I've gotten through nineteen years of life. It's what I do every single day—no matter how badly the odds are stacked against me.

Persevere, and survive.

Those are my two guiding words. I never knew either of my parents. I have no family and no home. The only person I could ever rely on was myself. In this cruel world, that's about as much as I could ask for.

Love? Hah. Don't talk to me about love. I stopped believing in it the day my first boyfriend ripped out my heart three years ago.

That's why love is the last thing on my mind when I leave a packed college bar with a captivating stranger. Yet everything changes when I'm awakened in the middle of the night by a pounding at the door. Suddenly, an arrangement meant for just one night threatens to become something much deeper.

All expectations are thrown to the wind as I'm tangled in a dangerous world unlike anything I can believe. The man I met has secrets swirling around him like a dark cape. I'm about to become his biggest one...

Together, we stumble toward the elevator. Rich breaks away for a second to hit the button. The light doesn’t come on.

“Damn,” he growls, “it’s busted again.”

I’m one step ahead of him. I’d spotted the stairs when we entered. I grab his hand and pull him after me with no hesitation. I start up the cement stairwell, determined to get to his room as fast as possible.

“Penny, wait.”

I look back, confused. “What?”

A devilish smile plays on his lips. “Only this.” Without warning his hands wrap around my waist, and I’m being lifted up as easily as if I were a doll. He turns to the side and presses my body against the wall, suspending me between him and the concrete.

His mouth crashes down on mine again. I curl my legs around his torso, locking my ankles together, and kiss him back with the passion reserved for a lover after ten long years apart. I didn’t think it was possible, but I’m getting even more turned on. Rich’s hands move down to grasp the outside of my thighs, and I moan into his kiss as the muscles of my core clench in sinful fashion. I want him so
badly. If we don’t get somewhere private soon, I won’t be wholly opposed to jumping him in public.

I gasp as he steps away, freeing me from the wall. I start to fall, but one of his hands darts down to catch me just beneath the knees. The other one cradles my shoulders. Before I know it, I’m slung across his arms like a bride on her wedding night.

“I’ve always wanted to carry a girl up these stairs,” Rich admits.

I laugh, and wrap my arm around his neck. “Oh, you are just the best type of romantic.”

Four flights of stairs later, Rich pushes open the fire door to a dimly-lit hallway. He carries me down the hall and stops in front of an entrance on the right. He sets me down, then fishes around in his jeans for the key. When the door creaks open, he sweeps a hand out in front of him. “Welcome to my humble abode.”

I walk in, curious about his apartment. I tend to side with the camp of people who believe that a person’s living arrangements can reveal a lot about his personality. But, I don’t find much to work with here.

The apartment is sparse and dark. Pale moonlight filters in through the balcony window, shining down on the only piece of furniture present: a queen size mattress lying on the floor of the living room. The red brick walls are totally empty—no girly posters or other things I might expect in a bachelor’s apartment. There are no lamps, no chairs, no couches.

After a moment, I notice a second piece of furniture: a small, old-school CRT TV camped in one corner of the studio apartment.

Rich switches on the light. “So?” he asks, “what do you think?”

I walk past the entrance. There’s one hall leading away from the room. It is filled with brown cardboard boxes. Lots and lots of boxes. “Did you just move in or something?”

Rich laughs behind me. “Yeah, something like that. You want a drink?”

“A drink?” I say. “No, I—”

The words catch in my throat as he grabs my hips and spins me around. I had no idea he’d come so close. He’d moved from the door to me without making a sound. His fingers lock together against my lower back, and he tugs me into him, pressing my belly to his waist. I feel his growing erection right away, and a diabolical excitement builds inside me.

Nothing happens.

For a long moment, Richard just holds me like that, staring into my eyes as I’m left dangling off his arms. His irises are the color of sea mist. I’m hypnotized by the deep intensity I see brewing just beneath the surface. I have no doubt that that type of intensity is mirrored in my eyes.

Then, moving slowly, as if restraining himself, Richard lowers his mouth to cover mine. This time, his kiss is sweet and gentle. Subtle and caring. He explores my upper lip first, then traces the line going to the corner of my mouth. His lips form a perfect mold over mine.

I was wrong before. This is the kiss reserved for a lover you haven’t seen in ten years.

I'm Scarlett Edwards. I'm a full-time student (2nd year, undergrad) and part-time writer. I hope to switch those around soon!

I'm kind of old fashioned. I write all my stories using paper and ink. At the end of the day, I transcribe them on my laptop. It takes a bit longer, but writing in a notebook really focuses my thoughts.

I love vintage photography. I have an old-school film camera that was my mom's from before I was born. I use it to take pictures almost every day.
Yours to Savor is the first full book I worked on. It went through six drafts, and took me ten months to complete. In the two months since getting it done, I finished two drafts of brand new stories. I'm getting faster!

I love hearing from my readers. I love getting feedback about my books. I'm just getting started, and plan on doing this writing gig for a long, long time.
I take inspiration from all the indie romance authors. Addison Moore, Samantha Young, Colleen Hoover, Jessica Sorensen, and everyone else…. you girls rock!

Five simple rules. Ariane Tucker has followed them since the night she escaped from the genetics lab where she was created, the result of combining human and extraterrestrial DNA. Ariane’s survival—and that of her adoptive father—depends on her ability to blend in among the full-blooded humans in a small Wisconsin town, to hide in plain sight at her high school from those who seek to recover their lost (and expensive) “project.”

But when a cruel prank at school goes awry, it puts her in the path of Zane Bradshaw, the police chief’s son and someone who sees too much. Someone who really sees her. After years of trying to be invisible, Ariane finds the attention frightening—and utterly intoxicating. Suddenly, nothing is simple anymore, especially not the rules…

Last week Good Choice Reading and 4 other bloggers revealed 5 character profiles. This week we will play a game called Guess Who?

We ask a question that the author submitted to us based on her characters, you leave a comment guessing which character it is, and whoever guesses correctly on EACH blog today through Friday wins a signed copy of The Rules.

Synopsis: Jessie Darker goes to high school during the day, but at night she helps with the family investigation business. Cheating husbands and stolen inheritances? They’re your girls—but their specialty is a bit darker. Zombie in your garage? Pesky Poltergeist living in your pool? They’ll have the problem solved in a magical minute. For a nominal fee, of course...

When gorgeous new client, Lukas Scott, saunters into the office requesting their help to find a stolen box, it sounds like a simple case—until the truth comes out. The box is full of Sin.

Seven deadly ones, in fact.

They’ve got five days to recapture the Sins before they're recalled by the box, taking seven hijacked human bodies with them. Easy peasy—except for one thing...

There’s a spell that will allow the Sins to remain free, causing chaos forever. When the key ingredient threatens the life of someone she knows, Jessie must make the ultimate choice between love and family—or lose everything.

Excerpt

“So not your biggest fan at the moment,” I said, closing the office door behind me. The runofffrom my jeans had soaked my sneakers pretty good. With each step, I gave a slight squishing noise accompanied by an annoying squeak against the old tile floor.

From across the room, Mom stared. “What happened to you?”

“It attacked me.” Tossing my bag on the couch, I sank into her chair and made sure to grind my butt into the cushion. Got it nice and wet. I was all about sharing the love—and right now, the love was soggy.

She laughed, waving a folder in my direction. “Surely you’re overreacting. It was one little zombie. They don’t attack people.”

“You’re serious?” Amused expression now replaced by concern, she crossed the room and leaned over her desk to get a better look at me.

“As a coronary.” Once I was sure the chair had sponged up all it could, I stood and huffed past her. Pulling at my favorite T-shirt—the word Fate inside a blood red heart, is a four letter word on the back—I said, “Child welfare would not be happy to hear you tried to feed your only child to a walking corpse…”

“But why would it attack? Did you provoke it?” Folding her arms, she frowned. “Insult it, perhaps?”

I winked at her. “Provoke it? Sure. I went and wiggled my ass in front of it yelling lunch just to see what’d happen.” I’d called it Stinky, but that didn’t count as an insult. Something couldn’t be considered an insult if it was true, right?

Right eyebrow twitching, she fought against a smile. “But you’re okay, right? No bites, broken bones, head injuries, possessions…?”

I smiled and did a little twirl. “All in one piece and still me.”

Mom had a checklist she went through at the end of each job. I was known for taking almost as much damage as I inflicted.

“Oh, and you’re probably going to get a call from the client. I sorta smashed her fence in the process.”

“We can’t afford this.” She reached down and pulled a white envelope out from under a stack of papers. “This is the bill for that Mercedes you smashed.”

“Oh! So not my fault. How was I supposed to know that Spring Heel was gonna land on the car? If it makes you feel any better, I think he was aiming for my head…”

“If you keep this up, we won’t even be able to afford the rent.”

She was right, of course, and it made me feel horrible. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m a wrecking ball wrapped in blue jeans. Take my cut of this job and put it toward the repairs. Keep my paycheck for the next month, too.” A good start, but it didn’t feel like enough. Sure, it would cover the damages—I hoped—but I felt guilty about upsetting her. The bills that were piling up kept her awake at night. This was only going to make things worse. We got a fair amount of business, but the overhead in our line of work was sky high.

As much as I hated the idea, I knew what would cheer her up. “I’ll even throw in pet possessions for the next month.”

JUS ACCARDO spent her childhood reading and learning to cook. Determined to follow in her
grandfather’s footsteps as a chef, she applied and was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America. At the last minute, she realized her path lay with fiction, not food, and passed on the spot to pursue writing. Jus is the bestselling author the popular Denazen series from Entangled publishing and is currently working on the first book in a new adult series due out summer 2013. A native New Yorker, she lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband, three dogs, and sometimes guard bear, Oswald.

In the tiny town of Willowspring, just about nothing ever happens except for layoffs, hockey games, and your average melodramatic teenage angst.

But that was before.

Vi, Ashley, and Macy are just trying to make it through the school year without one more humiliation when they team up for a simple photography assignment: create a story through a series of photographs. Can't be too much trouble, right?

Wrong.

The shutterbugs happen upon Willowspring High School's darkest secret. When everything around them starts to crumble after trying to do the right thing, their only hope is to stick together.

When the door opened to the alley behind the rink, I realized two things. One, it was freaking colder outside than it was in the bleachers by the ice, and two, Brianna Jones (A.K.A Bra stuffer) was already out there.

The three of us walked out as if it was perfectly normal to be there but Brianna didn’t even notice us. We walked to the opposite side of the alley and huddled together. We hoped it would look like we were keeping warm, but we were trying to hide both the cameras.

Watching Brianna was rather dull. She was just standing there, talking on her cell phone and it wasn’t even anything remotely interesting. We took pictures anyway, because like Mr. Bennett said, you need the before, during, and after to tell a story with photographs.

“Look! She is checking that car’s doors! That isn’t her car, is it?” The quiet clicking of the shutters on our cameras was almost deafening to me. I swore each click was louder and louder as we watched Brianna try to break into a car.

Finally, the last door she tried, the back passenger side, was open. She slipped in and a second later, the dark car had a red glow inside. She climbed back out, shut the door, and walked over to the wall, smoking a stolen cigarette.

“She just broke into someone’s car for a cigarette? Seriously?” Ashley was just as flabbergasted as the rest of us. Why would anyone risk committing a crime for a smoke? “Oh! She is moving again!”

Click, click, click. I took more and more pictures. I hated that they were all from the same angle, but spys have to do what they have to do to keep from being caught, all the while still getting the images.

Brianna walked back to the car and put the cigarette out on the hood. Lucky for whoever owned it there was a layer of snow to put it out before it could burn the paint. Then she leaned over and used the mirror. She pursed her lips, showed her teeth to check those, then she lifted her head slightly.

“What is she doing?” I whispered.

“I’m not sure.” Macy said breaking away from the group. “I am going over there, different angle.” Before I could stop her, she had gone back across the alley to the other side. She was braver than I was. Ashley watched her closely before turning back to me.

“Let me take some. I promise I won’t hurt Jilly.” I knew I had to hand it over. I promised her she could use it. Even knowing that, it didn’t make it any easier.

“Okay. Here.” I took the strap from around my neck and quickly placed it around hers. The minute the fabric was firmly against her skin, she took off, too. “Ash, what are you doing?” I whisper yelled to her.

She just put a finger over her mouth to shush me and she got even closer to the car than Macy had. I figured that made me look out so I opened my eyes and ears and tried to make sure my best friends didn’t get caught.

I looked over my shoulder to check the door to make sure we were still alone when all of a sudden I heard a scream.

“YOU LITTLE BITCH! GIVE ME THAT CAMERA NOW!” When I turned back to see what was going on (although I was pretty sure that either Macy or Ashley had been caught by Brianna) I saw my girls running towards me, with Brianna not far behind.

“Run!” Ash and Macy yelled through giggles. I turned and headed to the door and held it open for them. As soon as they passed through I closed it and the three of us went straight out the front door and to Macy’s truck.

“What on earth just happened?” I asked when I caught my breath. Ashley handed Jilly back to me and I flipped it on. The minute I pressed the play images button I began to laugh. The first one was of Brianna screaming at the camera. I pressed the next button and then it was a picture of her finger in her mouth. The next one was a picture of her finger in her nose.

I died laughing. Brianna Jones was a booger eater. I bet her boyfriend would love to know that.

“Oh, Ashley, you are amazing!” Then the truck erupted in laughter and because Macy’s dad had given her a twenty to get food at the overly expensive rink, we headed to the diner for some hot cocoa and French fries for half the cost. Who said teenagers were irresponsible with money?

Growing up, Adrianne couldn't get her hands on enough books to satisfy her need for the make believe. If she finished a novel and didn't have a new one ready and waiting for her, she began to create her own tales of magic and wonder. Now, as an adult, books still make up majority of her free time, and now her tales get written down to be shared with the world.

During the day, Adrianne uses her camera to capture life's stories for clients of all ages and at night, after her two children are tucked in bed; she devotes herself to her written work. Adrianne is living the life she always wanted, surrounded by art and beauty, the written word and a loving family.

As a young adult and new adult author, Adrianne James has plans to bring stories of growing characters, a little romance, and perhaps a little magic and mythology down the line for her readers to enjoy.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Hi lovelies! Welcome to my stop on the WATERFELL by: Amalie Howard cover reveal. I absolutely love Amalie and I'm super excited about this one!! So check out my snippet of the cover!

Intriguing. Gorgeous. Mysterious. RIGHT?!

Seventeen Magazine Summer Club author Amalie Howard spent her childhood with her nose stuck in a
book, from Grimm's Fairy Tales to Anne Rice, and everything in between. She is the author of Bloodspell and a published poet. She received a bachelor’s degree from Colby College in International Studies and a certificate in French Literature from the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, France. When she's not writing or devouring other people's novels, she reviews books for TheLoopNY. She lives in New York with her husband and three children.

- Guest Post -

What was the one thing you wanted most in your cover?

I wanted a provocative cover that would stand out in a sea of other books, no pun intended, and I think that’s what I got. I wanted my cover to really speak to potential readers. The colors are brilliant, the imagery is mesmerizing, and it tells a story. You can see something in this girl’s eyes—feel something. It’s almost as if she’s calling out to you to rescue her, and you kind of want to. You want to know more about her and what she has to say. So by the time you read the back of the book, you already know you’re going to be her friend for a little while. That’s compelling.

To see the next piece of the cover make sure you head over to BOOKS COMPLETE ME at 11:00am EST!

Hey loves! So lately I've been to a few signings where I may have just happened to pick up some extra books! Since I love these authors and I love you all I couldn't help but share! So happy (early) summer!

- Whats Up For Grabs! -

1) Signed copy of UNBREAKABLE by: Liz Norris

Plus and extra content booklet which has an alternative beginning and end + two other awesome scenes.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Synopsis: A New Adult Romance from New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Kendall Ryan.

Straight-laced Emmy Clarke’s assistant job at the modeling agency provides her with one distinct perk – getting to watch pretty mancandy parade around all day. But having to work under the ultra-bitchy, ultra-British Fiona Stone barely makes it worth it. Emmy enjoys looking, but she’s not stupid enough to fall for one of the tempting specimens. Especially not rising star Ben Shaw.

Ben is everything Emmy’s not: well-traveled, highly paid and exquisitely gorgeous. He’s also got more issues than Vogue. Against her better judgment to get involved, Emmy’s southern roots kick in, and whenever he’s on set, she makes sure he’s treated well and looked after. But she refuses to become one of the pathetic groupies lusting after him, and soon Ben’s drawn toward her refreshingly real attitude.

Against the backdrop of fashion shows in NYC, Paris and Milan, their casual flirting turns into more, and they embark on a journey of sexual discovery. But when Ben’s twisted past is uncovered, it threatens both their relationship and careers as the bitter Fiona digs her claws in, unwilling to let her golden boy go without a catfight.

Filled with passion, jealousy and heart-thumping sex, Working It is the tale of falling for a supermodel.

Kendall Ryan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the contemporary romance novels HARD TO LOVE, UNRAVEL ME, MAKE ME YOURS and RESISTING HER. She's a sassy, yet polite Midwestern gal with a deep love of books, and a slight addiction to lipgloss.

Synopsis: For P.J. Stone, being a “Seer” who has never seen anything is less than fun. And P.J. isn’t known for her patience.

To make matters worse, she must choose a suitable mate to continue the Seer bloodline. Duty always comes before her heart…at least that’s what her parents taught her. When she finds herself wanting someone who is considered off-limits, P.J. is forced to question everything she believes.

As if navigating her love life isn’t complicated enough, P.J. finally receives a vision—of a threat to her world that only she can perceive. But no one will believe a fledgling Seer’s warnings. With nowhere else to turn, she may decide to trust a stranger with her life, her world, and maybe even her heart.

In the past, her biggest worries were boys and school—but war has a way of changing things. Now, the alien Riders are trying to overrun the world. As the last of their kind, P.J. and her friends must find a way to save humanity before there’s nothing left to save.

After choosing a mate, P.J. hoped she'd have time to enjoy her love life. But with everything changing so quickly and major secrets revealed, who knows what the future will bring?

Hidden Gates ~
Absolutely loved this book!! There are so many characters to love and so much tension between them all. Plus, the world building and everything inside of it is brilliantly done. Definitely a roller coaster of emotions.

P.J. has always known she was a seer, but she's yet to have a vision. So when she does finally have one that threatens the whole world, she's quickly thrown into a life she could have never expected. P.J. is constantly having things thrown at her. Between, her love life, her family, her seer powers, and other factors P.J. has no time to breathe. Yet, I found myself really liking her as a character and hoping for a happy outcome. I even found myself liking Kohl and Jeremy. Even thought I thought Kohl was intimidating and pushy, he's always there to protect P.J..

I the character I absolutely loved was Bryn. Even at the end when I wanted to kick his ass from here to China, I still loved him. First his name has all sorts of hot points. On top of that he's got black locks of hair that fall into his bright blue eyes and he's super tall. So, UNF! Just loved him and I'm hoping for a Bryn + P.J. (or shall I say Peej) happily every after.

There's so many awesome things that tie this book together: seers, guardians, dragons, speakers, and gatekeepers. Each of them have their own powers and awesome tricks. Personally I'd want to be a speaker so I could talk to animals! Awesome, right? Overall, this book has so much tension, adventure, and sexy times that I couldn't help but fall in love with it. Cannot wait to read the next one!

Oh my heart breaker! I don't even know where to start. D.T. Dyllin delivers all the same action as the first book. There's massive angst, betrayals, heartbreak, and yet it's all so seductive. So many secrets are revealed and so many decisions made. It's a whirlwind of adventure and bittersweet moments. Mostly though, my emotions are screaming from every direction because of the ending.

Poor P.J., honestly, I have no idea how this girl continues to stand strong and trust in everything she does. Everything around her changes so rapidly in Broken Gates. So many things happen her that I wasn't expecting at all, and I was pleasantly surprised. But, honestly I don't know how her heart hasn't broken into a million tiny pieces with all the love angst going on. I surely would have, so I commend her for that.

With our other characters, I had to grow to like Jenna in Hidden Gates, but in Broken Gates I kind of loved her and I'm really hoping for a happily ever after for her. Then there's Kohl and Bryn aka the love triangle for tortured souls. I admit in book one, I wasn't a Kohl fan at all. I thought he was too aggressive and power hungry... though he is very sexy and has green eyes (which is always a win for me). In Broken Gates though I'm still not team Kohl, I like him. You begin to see that he truly does care for P.J. and would do anything for her. Then on the other side is Bryn. Oh my sexy dark hair, bright blue eyes, lovely, amazing Bryn. I just adore Bryn to no end. Bryn loves P.J. with all of his heart even if he does make dumb decisions sometimes. I am and forever will be team Bryn.

Was the book amazing? Definitely. Am I extremely angry about the ending? Definitely. Heartbreaking, cliff hanger endings are evil and that's exactly what D.T. has done to us readers. Although, I have a feeling this may not be a cliff hanger and that the result will totally shatter my heart. But, alas I will hope for the best! Totally loving this series. I love all the emotions that these books evoke and the amazing world building. Plus, can we mention how gorgeous the covers are? Love them! Overall, fantastical second book.

About Me

Jena

Hi! I'm 25 yrs old and currently a special education IA! I love to read, listen to music, and take pictures. I'm obsessed with coffee, animals, working out, and the ocean. I have blonde hair, green eyes, and I'm 5'1". If you have any questions, ask! :)